Mortar finishing tool

ABSTRACT

Provided is a mortar finishing tool specifically adapted to use for touching up and finishing brick-work jobs. A plate has a left edge, a right edge, a front edge, and rear edge. A left beveled lip is formed integral to the left edge along the length thereof projecting upwardly from the left edge obliquely towards the plate. A rear beveled lip is attached proximate to the rear edge along the length thereof, the rear beveled lip being generally L-shaped in cross-section having a base attached to the plate with its upper portion angled obliquely towards the plate. A handle projects from the rear edge of the plate situated co-planar to the plate.

SPECIFIC REFERENCE

The instant application claims benefit of provisional application Ser. No. 60/980,204 filed Oct. 16, 2007, the entire disclosure of which is incorporated herein by reference.

BACKGROUND

1. Field of the Invention

The present invention relates to mortar hawks or mortar holding apparatuses for retaining mortar while using a trowel to finish brick work. In particular, the instant invention is a plate-like mortar hawk utilized for touch-up jobs having two angled lips for urging mortar on to the trowel and a means for allowing water to drain from the plate, as will be further described. The instant invention further includes a handle which is well-suited to maneuver small amounts of mortar to touch-up areas along a wall or the like.

2. Description of the Related Art

Mortar hawks are well known in the art. They allow beds of mortar to be held by one hand as a trowel is used by the other hand to finish mortar or concrete. See for example U.S. Pat. No. 2,821,078 to Sewards, U.S. Pat. No. 4,579,378 to Snyders and U.S. Pat. No. 5,067,761 Blowers. In combination these patents teach a hawk or mortarboard to be carried by hand. There is a flat, tray-like reservoir. Blowers teaches at least a pair of side walls for containing the mortar.

However, the prior art does not teach or suggest a device adapted to work with very small, touch-up amounts of mortar. Herein taught, beveled edges are slight and angled to ease the transfer of mortar to the trowel. The prior art and most tools are not specifically finishing tools rather they are geared for holding relatively large amounts of mortar and thus any side walls are meant to only retain the mortar and not urge the mortar on to the trowel.

The prior art also does not teach a handle of the instant type wherein it is on the same plane as the tray. In the prior art they are centrally located and downwardly disposed because they must accommodate the weight of large amounts of mortar and thus the user must support the weight of the mortar with his or her entire arm, which can be cumbersome and is not desirable for touch-up jobs.

Finally, the prior art does not teach a gap defined between the first bevel and the second bevel which allows for the drainage of excess water. In the prior art the side walls are integral throughout to avoid loss of mortar. They do not teach or suggest a hole, gap, or slit between them which defines a channel that acts like a drain. There is need then for these and other features disclosed by the instant invention, as below.

SUMMARY

It is the objective of the instant invention to provide a mortar tool specifically adapted to use for touch-up, finishing brick-work jobs. Detailing and finishing mortar work requires precise, clean application of the mortar, and this invention eases the transfer of mortar, keeps the mortar consistent, and allows for exact manipulation and placement of the mortar.

Accordingly, what is provided is a mortar finishing tool, comprising a plate having a left edge, a right edge, a front edge, and rear edge. A left beveled lip is formed integral to the left edge along the length thereof projecting upwardly from the left edge obliquely towards the plate. A rear beveled lip is attached proximate to the rear edge along the length thereof, the rear beveled lip being generally L-shaped in cross-section having a base attached to the plate with its upper portion angled obliquely towards the plate. A handle projects from the rear edge of the plate situated co-planar to the plate.

The tool also includes a slanted lip front angled obliquely towards said plate away from said front edge such that the finishing tool can be placed directly against a wall and angled down toward said wall to urge mortar from said plate, and a channel is defined between a rearmost edge of the left beveled lip and a left side of the base of the rear beveled lip at a bottom left corner of the plate to allow excess water to be drained from the plate while still maintaining mortar on the plate.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 shows a top view of the instant finishing tool.

FIG. 2 shows a right side view of the instant invention showing the two angled edges.

FIG. 3 shows a rear view of the instant finishing tool as viewed looking down the handle.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT

The invention will now be described in detail in relation to a preferred embodiment and implementation thereof which is exemplary in nature and descriptively specific as disclosed. As is customary, it will be understood that no limitation of the scope of the invention is thereby intended. The invention encompasses such alterations and further modifications in the illustrated kit assembly, and such further applications of the principles of the invention illustrated herein, as would normally occur to persons skilled in the art to which the invention relates. This detailed description of this invention is not meant to limit the invention, but is meant to provide a detailed disclosure of the best mode of practicing the invention.

With reference then to FIGS. 1-3, shown is the mortar finishing tool 1. A generally rectangular, flat plate 10 forms the flat surface on which small amounts of concrete or mortar can be placed. For instance, using a hand trowel, the user can scoop the mortar from a mixing bin onto the plate 10. The plate 10 can be made of any suitable rigid material such as plastic or metal.

The plate 10 has a left edge 12, a right edge 14, a front edge 16, and a rear edge 18. Formed integral to the left edge 12 is an angled or beveled lip 19. This left beveled lip 19 travels the entire length of the plate 10 and projects upwardly from the left edge 12 obliquely at a slight angle towards the plate 10. “Slight” as defined herein means the lip is non-perpendicular relative to the plate 10, forming an angle A relative to the plate in the range of forty-five degrees (45°) and ninety-degrees (90°), preferably about sixty-degrees. See FIG. 3 for instance. In this manner, mortar that resides on the plate 10 can be better urged onto the trowel when the user pushes the mortar against the left beveled lip 19. Such an angle keeps the mortar from falling off of both the trowel and the instant finishing tool as the user tries to scoop the mortar from the plate 10 onto the trowel.

An angled lip is also formed at the rear edge 18 of the plate 10, traveling most of the length of the rear edge 18, e.g. from the right edge 14 to near the left beveled lip 19. As termed herein, this rear beveled lip 17 can be formed integral to the plate 10, but preferably it is a separate component having a flat base 17 a attached proximate to the rear edge 18 using rivets 18 a or the like, the flat base 17 a being raised slightly from the plate 10. For instance the rear beveled lip 17 preferably is a separately attached bevel, generally L-shaped in cross-section. In this manner, as further described below, a channel border 20 is formed along the left side of the rear beveled lip 17. The rear beveled lip 17 is raised upward from the base 17 a and angled slightly towards the center of the plate 10. “Slightly” as used herein with respect to rear beveled lip 17 is defined as an angle slightly past the vertical axis normal to the plate plane. Thus, an angle B is formed having an angle in the range of ninety-degrees (90°) and one-hundred thirty-five (135°) degrees relative to base 17 a. This rear beveled lip 17 similarly allows mortar to be urged on to the trowel and also keeps the mortar from falling across the handle 22 of the finishing tool and thus keeps the mortar away from the user's hand.

There is no raised lip at the front edge 16 of the plate 10 or at the right edge 14 of the plate (or edge opposing either edge that has the lip, if reversed). Each non-beveled edge forms the border of the plate 10 and allows for the easy transfer of mortar from the bed or mixing bin to the finishing tool and from the finishing tool plate 10 to the brick-work. However, in the preferred embodiment left beveled lip 19 includes a lip front 24 which is angled obliquely towards plate 10 away from front edge 16 such that lip front 24 is not perpendicular to plate 10. In this manner, the finishing tool 1 can be placed directly against any wall and angled down toward the wall to better urge the mortar from the plate 10 close to the work area.

As shown by FIGS. 1 and 3, defined between the left beveled lip 19 and the base 17 a of the rear beveled lip 17 is a gap. Particularly, at the bottom left corner of the plate 10 at the junction of the left beveled lip 19 and the base 17 a of bottom angled lip 17, a channel 21 is formed. The left side channel border 20 of the base 17 a of the rear beveled lip 17 forms one side of the channel 21, and the rearmost edge 23 of the left beveled lip 19 relative to front edge 16 forms the other side of the channel 21. This channel 21 allows excess water residing in the mortar and thus on the plate 10 to be drained from the plate without losing any amounts of mortar therethrough. For instance when mortar is manipulated on the plate 10, excess water included in the mortar or concrete can fall through the channel 21 and away from the mortar and finishing tool 1. This allows the consistency of the mortar to be maintained.

A handle 22 projects from the rear edge 18 of the plate 10. In the preferred embodiment the handle 22 is on the same plane as the plate 10. See FIG. 3 for instance. Such a configuration allows the finishing tool 1 to be easily held and manipulated by wrist action in all directions as small amounts of mortar are used to touch-up and finish a brick wall for example. Since the instant finishing tool 1 is designed to hold small amounts of concrete or mortar, the handle 22 can be positioned in this more maneuverable manner rather than underlying the center of the plate 10 as is known in the art.

It should be understood that the embodiment described above is well-suited for user's holding the finishing tool 1 in their left-hand as they work with a trowel in their right hand. One of ordinary skill can re-configure the edges of the plate to accommodate use of the plate in a user's right hand, for instance by moving the handle and/or bottom angled lip to the opposing side of the plate. The instant embodiment covers this version. 

1. A mortar finishing tool, comprising: a plate having a left edge, a right edge, a front edge, and rear edge; a left beveled lip formed integral to said left edge along the length thereof projecting upwardly from said left edge obliquely towards said plate; a rear beveled lip attached proximate to said rear edge along the length thereof, said rear beveled lip generally L-shaped in cross-section having a base attached to said plate with its upper portion angled obliquely towards said plate; and, a handle projecting from said rear edge of said plate situated co-planar to said plate.
 2. The mortar tool of claim 1, wherein said left beveled lip includes a slanted lip front angled obliquely towards said plate away from said front edge such that said finishing tool can be placed directly against a wall and angled down toward said wall to urge mortar from said plate.
 3. The mortar tool of claim 1, wherein a channel is defined between a rearmost edge of said left beveled lip and a left side of said base of said rear beveled lip at a bottom left corner of said plate to allow excess water to be drained from said plate while still maintaining mortar on said plate.
 4. The mortar tool of claim 1, wherein said base of said rear beveled lip is attached to said plate using rivets.
 5. A mortar finishing tool, comprising: a rectangular plate having a left edge, a right edge, a front edge, and rear edge; a left beveled lip formed integral to said left edge along the length thereof projecting upwardly from said left edge obliquely towards said plate at an angle in the range of forty-five degrees and ninety-degrees relative to said plate; a rear beveled lip attached proximate to said rear edge along the length thereof, said rear beveled lip generally L-shaped in cross-section having a generally rectangular, flat base attached to said plate with its upper portion angled obliquely towards said plate at an angle in the range of ninety-degrees and one-hundred thirty-five degrees relative to said base, said base raised from said plate such that one edge of said base forms a channel border proximate to a rearmost edge of said left beveled lip to define a channel to allow excess water to be drained from said plate when said mortar is present thereon; and, a handle projecting from said rear edge of said plate situated co-planar to said plate adapted to allow for movement of said finishing tool merely by wrist-action of said user.
 6. The mortar tool of claim 1, wherein said left beveled lip includes a slanted lip front angled obliquely towards said plate away from said front edge such that said finishing tool can be placed directly against a wall and angled down toward said wall to urge mortar from said plate. 